The Canada–United States border officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest international border in the world between two countries.  It is shared between Canada and the United States, the second- and fourth-largest countries by area, respectively.  The terrestrial boundary (including portions of maritime boundaries in the Great Lakes, and on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic coasts) is 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi) long, of which 2,475 kilometres (1,538 mi) is Canada's border with Alaska.  Eight Canadian provinces and territories (Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick), and thirteen U.S. states (Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) are located along the border.  The International Boundary is commonly referred to as the world's longest undefended border, but this is true only in the military sense, as civilian law enforcement is present.  It is illegal to cross the border outside border controls.  Everyone crossing the border must be checked.  The relatively low level of security measures stands in contrast to that of the United States – Mexico border (one-third as long as the Canada–U.S. border), which is actively patrolled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to prevent illegal migration and drug trafficking.  Parts of the International Boundary cross through mountainous terrain or heavily forested areas, but significant portions also cross remote prairie farmland and the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, in addition to the maritime components of the boundary at the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans.  The Maine–New Brunswick border divides the Aroostook Valley Country Club.  The actual number of U.S. and Canadian border security personnel is classified; there are in excess of 17,000 United States Border Patrol personnel on the Mexico–U.S. border alone.  Read more and see graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border  See also article about border enforcement in Ohio reported in June 2018 when  U.S. immigration agents made more than 100 arrests at a gardening and landscaping company, aided by about 200 law enforcement workers in one of the largest employer stings in recent years.  The 114 arrests occurred at two locations of Corso's Flower & Garden Center, one in Sandusky, a resort city on Lake Erie, and another in nearby Castalia.  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/immigration-agents-arrest-114-sting-ohio-one-largest-recent-years-n880241

A demonym or gentilic is a word used for people or the inhabitants of a place.  The name of a people's language is usually the same as this word, for example, the "English" (language or people).  Some places may not have a word for the people that live there.  In many cases, both the location's name and the demonym are created by using a suffix, for example England and English and Englishman.  This is not always true, for example, France → French; Philippines → Filipino or Pilipino. In a few cases, the name of the country is not at all related to the name of the people (Netherlands → Dutch).  This is usually because the two words come from different languages.  Demonyms can be nouns or adjectives.  In many cases the noun and adjective forms are the same (Canadian/Canadian); in other cases they are different (Spaniard/Spanish).  In the case of Canadian provinces and territories and U.S. states, demonyms are not usually used as adjectives.  https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym

The historic Drama Book Shop, located just steps from the heart of Times Square, will leave its 40th Street home because of recent rent escalations.  Now, according to The New York Times, it has been announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with three of his Hamilton collaborators, Thomas Kail, Jeffrey Seller, and James L. Nederlander, have purchased the shop, in an effort to keep it afloat.  The group will find the store a more affordable home in Midtown.  The shop was purchased from Rozanne Seelen, whose husband, Arthur Seelen, bought it in 1958.  Seelen said she sold it for the cost of the inventory plus some rent support for the final weeks at the current location.  "When I was in high school I would go to the old location and sit on the floor and read plays--I didn't have the money to buy them," Miranda said.  "After college Tommy Kail and I met in the Drama Book Shop basement, and I wrote a good deal of  'In the Heights' there."  Seller, who will oversee the management of the shop, said that the plan is revamp the website and expand programming, with the goal of breaking even, which the shop had done occasionally in recent years, but not always.  The Drama Book Shop will close its current location on January 20, 2019 and will reopen at a currently undisclosed location in the fall.  Stephanie Wild  https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-and-HAMILTON-Team-Are-the-New-Owners-of-The-Drama-Book-Shop-20190108

Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. 2019 from Yelp  Returning favorites this year in the sixth annual list include Bangers and Brews (no. 1, famous for their bangers and mash), Yardie Spice (no. 10, a Miami mainstay with their Caribbean menu) and TKB Bakery & Deli (no. 37 with its delectable sandwiches).   Brenae Leary  https://www.yelpblog.com/2019/01/yelps-top-100-places-to-eat-in-the-u-s-2019

To fully appreciate Bernice Sandler's seismic impact on equality for women in higher education, you have to go back to the dark ages of the early 1970s.  In those days, many universities had limits on the number of female professors they would hire.  Salaries for female faculty members lagged behind those for men.  Men's varsity sports received millions of dollars in funding while female athletes held bake sales to pay for their uniforms.  Some women's teams had no locker rooms and had to dress in their dorms.  All that began to change in 1972 when Congress passed Title IX, the federal law that bars gender discrimination in education.  But the landmark legislation may not have happened--at least not as soon as it did--if not for the grassroots efforts of Sandler, known as the "Godmother of Title IX," who died January 5, 2019 at her home in Washington.  She was 90.  The final version of the bill, signed into law by President Richard Nixon, contained only 37 words:  "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."  Its impact has been most visibly felt in college sports, where resources for women have traditionally lagged far behind those for men.  Boosted by better funding and facilities, women's participation in college basketball, volleyball, swimming and other sports exploded in the decades after Title IX.  Later she became an expert on the issue of sexual harassment, conducting workshops, testifying in court and helping schools develop guidance and protocols.  In 2013 she was elected to the National Women's Hall of Fame.  Brandon Griggs  https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/08/us/bernice-sandler-title-ix-dies/index.html

Thought for Today  One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion. - Simone de Beauvoir, author and philosopher (9 Jan 1908-1986)

Word of the Day  cryptodepression  noun  The portion of a lake which lies below sea level.  The cryptocurrency Bitcoin was first issued ten years ago on January 9, 2009.

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  January 9, 2019   Issue 2019